Santa Anita: Cerin joins elite group of trainers with four-win day

From the start to finish of Saturday’s 10-race program, trainer Vladimir Cerin was on his way to equaling a milestone almost as old as Santa Anita. Cerin won four races, the 12th time in history that a trainer has done so since the track opened in 1934.

Cerin joins Clyde Van Dusen (1941), Farrell Jones (1962), Buster Millerick (1965), Charles Whittingham (1967), Bobby Frankel (1976 and 1981), Richard Mandella (1993 and 2003), Mike Mitchell (1995), and Doug O’Neill (2005 and 2006) as trainers to win four races in a single day.
“That’s a good list,” Cerin said. “I’m glad to be part of it.”

Mandella reached his four-timers on Breeders’ Cup days, winning all stakes.

Cerin won Saturday’s first race with Format V. ($28.20), the fourth with Put It There ($5.60), the eighth with Bet On Victor ($42.60), and the 10th was Father Pabst ($7.80).

Going into the program, Cerin considered Father Pabst his most likely winner.

“I thought that he was my best chance,” Cerin said.

Bet On Victor, a 6-year-old gelding, was the sentimental winner.

“I love that horse,” Cerin said. “He’s been an unlucky horse. He’s had everything go wrong for him.”

Cerin was not done. He won Sunday’s fifth race with Van Brit ($4).

This Sunday at Hollywood Park, Cerin will start Briecat in the $100,000 Wilshire Handicap for fillies and mares over a mile on turf.
“She’s doing very well,” he said.

Cerin’s runners earned $83,400 on Saturday. Cerin said he did not have a ticket on any of them.

“When you have so many horses in, you don’t have a chance to handicap or bet,” he said. “I’m not complaining. I had four winners and you don’t need to bet. But it would have been nice to have a ticket at boxcar figures.”